On the 28th of February 2001, Buck and Luciene moved to the Amazon Basin of Brazil. We lived in Macapá, right on the equator. Why would a web designer give up his career and take his family from their comfortable life in Columbus, Ohio, USA, to live on the Amazon River? We came with a vision to save the Amazon, to tell people about Jesus, and plant a Vineyard church. We have planted a church, and we are turning it over to the national leaders, heading back to the States in Sept. 2009.

 

Now isn't that one scary lion? Could that be Aslan?

We got back from church on Wednesday to find our own tiny personal tragedy. It rained, like it only rains in the middle of a tropical rain forest. It rained, well cats and dogs is such a cliché, and really doesn’t do it justice, so, it rained cows and camels. It gave me a little bit more sympathy for the people in New Orleans. Ok, it wasn’t quite on the scale of Katrina. But the back house and the yard was full of water, calf high. (That’s like my calf, and not a cow’s calf.)


Because we don't have the roof on the second floor, and we have no glass in the windows, the water runs down the wall and into the house. Our living room was full of water too.

The puppies were in the water, and Hannah took them and blow dried them and got them dried off.

We live right near the Marco Zero Monument, and all around the monument is parking lot. The city planners, in their wisdom, took the water from the whole area, and ran it under the road and dumped it right by our street. It is quite unbelievable how much water just flows down our street. Many times it just takes part of the street with it. In fact, when it is raining, it is hard to recognize it as a street. The phrase “A River Runs Through It” comes to mind.

Well, the neighbor next to us doesn’t have the wall around his property completely done. (Here, everyone that has the financial means puts a wall around their house to keep the petty thieves out and very large and vicious dogs in.) That huge torrent overran the little gutter carved in the street, and flooded his yard. As his land slopes down, it filled with water, and as the rest of his land has a wall, it started filling up like a very muddy swimming pool, and started filling the house he has on the back of his property.

To relieve the flooding, he broke the wall between our properties. So then our yard started looking like the Amazon River, deep and wide and very brown. Since I wasn’t at home to know that he had so graciously blessed us with holes in our walls and enough water to get a good start on a lake, it filled the back house, the septic tank was under water, and a lot of stuff got wet. A YWAM couple from a Vineyard in New Zealand had stored some stuff here while they are back in New Zealand for home assignment, and everything on the bottom got wet. We have been cleaning things up and trying to dry stuff out for the last couple of days. Kind of hard to do when it is like 85% humidity and rains every day. We finally got some sun today, and got some stuff dried out.


Here I am, breaking the wall on the other side, to allow the water to drain.

On a scale, this was pretty small time stuff. And yet, it has been a real pain, and has given us lots of extra work, and we have lost some stuff, some documents of ours got wet. I can’t even imagine what people in New Orleans must be going through. I’ll tell you, I don’t think I would go back. I would try to find someplace that is above sea level at least :-)

A group of young people from Oregon sent some clay for the girls. Here are a few of their creations.

posted by Eduardo Buck at Friday, December 30, 2005

 

Christmas eve meal with the Staubs.

We spent the 24th with our friends, the Staub’s. We have been so blessed by their generosity, and hospitality, and really appreciate their friendship. They graciously invited us over to their house for a late lunch, and provided an excellent meal for us. The kids got to spend Christmas eve in the pool, swimming.

Here are the kids in front of our tree.

Our tree was very simple. We had some grape lights, and decorated the tree in angels. At the top of the tree, we had a picture of Jesus, sitting on the throne, surrounded by angels.


Luciene and the kids opening presents on Christmas morning.

We did Christmas American style this year. Brazilians usually celebrate on the 24th, spending the evening with family and opening their gifts at midnight. We spent the day at the Staubs, and got back so tired that we went to bed early. As is the custom, at midnight, there were very large “firecrackers” going off, that in reality must be mid sized bombs by all of the noise they make. We got up the next morning, made some Freedom Toast with real maple syrup. (Our friend Ben Meeker blessed us with some 100% real maple syrup, and various Christmas presents also.) Then we opened our presents. It was kind of nice to do Christmas like I remember it as a child, on Christmas morning, instead of Christmas eve at midnight as is the Brazilian way.




The Children's Christmas Choir

The children's Christmas dance team.

This is the young person's dance group that danced on Sunday night.

Mayla and Suellen with the dance team

At church then on Sunday night, (Brazilians have the main church service on Sunday night, not on Sunday morning as is the custom in the US.) we had a children’s and teen dance teams, a children’s choir, I preached a special Christmas message, then we had some good food.

Lots of good food after the Christmas service!

My good friend Max and his mom check out his fotos

We had a very simple, happy, and blessed Christmas. Thanks for all of you that have sent messages reminding us that you pray regularly for us. Truly, we could not be here if it were not for our faithful friends, family, and supporters. We are praying that each of you has a blessed Christmas also!

posted by Eduardo Buck at Monday, December 26, 2005

 

Raquel, Luciene, and Hannah prepare to sing Happy Birthday to me in English.

For my birthday on the 17th, we went out to a pizza place, just our family. But then, on Sunday the 18th, I was taken completely by surprise. They had a surprise birthday party for me after church. I ended the service in prayer, and someone came up, and said that there was one more announcement, and announced that it was my birthday. They had brought in a cake and food while my eyes were shut in prayer, which was pretty sneaky of them.

There was lots of good food!

They had an “American” sandwich, and a delicious chocolate cake for me. Luciene, Hannah and Raquel got up and sang me Happy Birthday in English, and then the church prayed for me. It was really cool, it was a complete surprise, and it was a very nice surprise.

Praying for me after the service.

Even though it is sometimes really hard being on the mission field and missing our family and friends so much, it is really awesome to me how God has given us our church family. While they don’t take the place of family we have left behind, they fill our hearts with joy, and we are so thankful for the friends that we have here in Brazil. We are thankful too for our faithful partners who continue to bless us in prayer, financially, and for our friends that have sent us letters and packages. May God bless you, each and every one that have so richly blessed us! We love you all!




Here is the family at a manger scene in downtown Macapa, along with Sinara, a girl from the church.

When we got home from church, our Rottweiler bitch Lilly was giving birth. There are 7 healthy puppies. It was like another birthday present.

posted by Eduardo Buck at Sunday, December 18, 2005

 
3 December 2005


Our small five person choir, singing at Fisk English School.

Luciene and I were invited to participate in a choir at the Fisk English school here in Macapa. It was a combo Thanksgiving and Christmas party, and they invited me to give a short message on the theme of Thanksgiving. It is always a privilege to be invited to preach to non-churched people. Please join me in praying that the seeds that were planted would yield great fruit.

Sharing a message of Thanksgiving at Fisk English School

Here is a picture of the front of the house, with the new metal bars on the doors and windows.

Nicolas has been tooling around in a walker, amazing how much stuff he can get into for such a little kid. He is very active- he just doesn’t stop.

This has been the church transportation, a cattle truck being used for the kingdom :-)

See you guys later!

posted by Eduardo Buck at Tuesday, December 06, 2005